How to Win a Losing Battle
by Patronus123
Summary: AU about Eli &Clare, who go to boarding schools across the street from each other, though one has never said a single word to the other. But what happens when a chance meeting unavoidably throws them into each other's lives? What will happen to the boy with a terrible past and the girl with such a difficult present? Will they learn how to win a win a losing battle? Find out!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Degrassi.**

**Hello there! This is a story that was inspired by the following pictures:**

**( ) post/38319426830**

**(You should totally follow that tumblr, by the way. They are **_**fantastic**_**!)**

**So I looked at these pictures and they gave me a Boarding School kind of vide, then I thought to myself, "Hey. Boarding School Eli and Clare would be really cool." And then this happened.**

**The chapters will alternate between Eli's and Clare's point of views, to get a better perspective on how they're both thinking/feeling and what they're both going through.**

**This story is about, for Eli, learning how to love again and, for Clare, trying to figure out what love is. WARNING: Much angst and sappiness. Because what's an Eclare fic without that, right? ;P**

**Hope you enjoy! Please review!**

**Eli's POV**

Eli sighed and looked up at the clock. Could time go any slower? It seemed like his chemistry teacher had been droning on and on about the elements for hours now. Eli had never seen anyone so able to talk for so long about absolutely nothing.

_Finally_, the bell rang and the classical music started. Eli closed his notebook, in which he had not taken a single note, slung it over his shoulder, and headed out into the hallway.

He listened to the music playing and figured out that it was Bach. His boarding school had started playing the classical tunes in between classes this year in an effort to get students more interested in school. And to make up for last year, when they cut out most of the arts programs. Somehow, classical music, which no one listened to, was supposed to be counted as an acceptable apology for that. Eli snorted at the thought; music that bored him to death in replace of the fantastic creative writing program the school had once had. Yeah, because that's a fair tradeoff.

He trudged outside onto the grounds and found a decent tree. Sitting down in its shade, he took out his lunch and headphones. He stuck the headphones into his ears ,turned on Them Crooked Vultures, and began eating his cheese-on-rye sandwich. Immersing himself in the music and letting the flavor of the food enfold him, he closed his eyes and thought.

He thought about his friends from back home, who he missed so much. Eli had never had very many friends, but the ones he had had were close. Ray and Jack and Elise and Eliza. He smiled at the thought of all of them together; they'd had some good times. Really good times. And then of course there was Julia...but thinking of her didn't make him smile. Not anymore. Not since...the incident. You know, when he'd killed her. That's why his parents had sent him here; they thought being back home with all the memories of his and Julia's time together would be too much for him, a constant, painful reminder of the accident, and he would crack.

So he had been sent here: Fredrick Wintersole School for Boys. Apparently this Fredrick guy had been huge when he'd been alive. At least, in this town: Fosterville. God, it sounded like it was straight out of a bad horror film. And the school was too prissy and "proper" and preppy and filled with pricks. Eli could not _wait_ to get out of here. Once it came time for college, he would be able to pick wherever he wanted to go, and he wouldn't have to go anywhere his parents told him to.

He did love his parents very much; they were a lot better than most. And Eli knew he shouldn't be angry at them for sending them here; they were just trying to do what they thought was best for him. But it wasn't the fact that they had sent him here that ticked Eli off; it was the fact that they had _sent_ him here, without asking. They had _told_ him he was going; he didn't have any say in the matter. It was like he was some dog they could do whatever they wanted with. It had never been that way before, and Eli didn't know why it was now. If they had talked to him about coming here before shooing him away, he probably would have seen their point and eventually agreed, even if he knew he would miss home and his friends. Or maybe not. Maybe he would've thrown a huge fit and stomped upstairs and slammed the door and put his music on max volume and refused to come out until his parents said that he didn't have to go. But they didn't even give him the chance to do any of that, to be impossible!

Eli wasn't angry at them anymore, though. He couldn't afford to be; he couldn't just waste his days seething at his parents. That wouldn't change anything. Besides, he'd been here for three years, it was about time to bury the hatchet. Or, at least, put as much dirt over it as he could.

He swallowed hard as his thoughts turned once again to Julia. Her deep, captivating eyes, framed perfectly by her long, gorgeous, raven-black hair. Her soft, sweet skin, always so frightfully cold. She always had to wear a jacket, but always seemed to forget one. She'd been wearing his the night she...left. She'd forgotten to take it off and throw it in his face as she slammed his car door shut, so when he saw her body, so cold and still, she was still wearing it. Her parents had insisted on having her wear it over her dress at the funeral. He knew they had been trying to help, and he was grateful to the effort, but it really just made everything worse.

Eli had always found it funny how people looked best at their funerals. Some people even planned what they were going to wear, like it was some big, grand event. And it was, really. Everyone got all dressed up and the guests of honor came in a limo and the event took place and then there was a great big reception. The death was hardly noticed. It was just like a Bar or Bat Mitzvah, when the kid who's actually becoming a man or woman is only given people's attention for two seconds as they say, "Congratulations!" then move on to their next shot. Eli noticed that that was the way with everything, actually. People gave the obligatory remarks and did the required actions, and never anything more. No one cared to actually invest themselves in someone else's lives or troubles. No one cared to actually...well, care.

Suddenly, a loud scream tore Eli away from his silent reverie. He looked around for the source of the shrill sound and found it across the street, at Marie Hamilton Institute for Girls: There was a girl with distinct curls soaked in and dripping water. The girls who appeared to have caused the water, one blonde and one Indian girl, were now laughing and pointing. Either they were all best friends or mortal enemies, but Eli couldn't figure out which. But then the girl with the curls smiled in her shock, and that gave it away. She began to chase the other two girls, shouting, "You will _not_ get away with this!"

Eli smiled to himself, but it was a sad smile. He missed being able to be attracted to girls. But he just couldn't find it in himself after...Julia. He'd done the most terrible thing ever, and he was never going to be able to get over it. Besides, he knew now that him and girls was a recipe for tragedy. He hurt people far too easily, and he didn't want anyone to get hurt. Not because of him, at least.

The bell rang and Eli put his headphones away, stood up, dusted the dirt off his pants, and started walking toward the building where his next class was. Before he entered the building, though, he stole one last longing look at the girl with the curls across the street. Not longing because he wanted her, though.

Longing because he wanted to want her.

**So there you have it, sports fans! Please, make my day and review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Degrassi.**

**Hello there, lovely readers!**

**First off, thanks so much for such a positive response, guys! Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to review ,follow, and/or fav! Don't worry, I am definitely continuing this story. :)**

**So this next chapter is focused on Clare. It's at night, the same day Alli and Jenna soaked Clare and Eli noticed "the girl with the curls" for the first time. Happy reading!**

**Clare's POV**

"Clare, come _on_!" Alli whined. "We said we were sorry!"

Clare just continued to type on her laptop, working on her History essay. Alli and Jenna were currently pestering her to go with them to a movie tonight, after what they had done this afternoon.

"Clare, please, what we did wasn't that bad," Jenna tried to reason.

Clare turned in her desk chair to look at the two of them, Alli sitting on Clare's bed and Jenna in her beanbag. "Need I remind you that you threw a water balloon at me? When I was wearing a white shirt? Outside? Across from all those boys having lunch? Outside?"

"Okay, maybe we didn't think it all the way through," Alli reluctantly admitted. Clare snorted. "But we're sorry! We promise, we'll never do it again."

"Never," Jenna agreed.

"Just come to the movies with us tonight," Alli begged. "Please! It'll be so fun."

"What would we see?" Clare inquired, very slightly opening up to the idea.

"_Glitter, Not Gold_," Jenna said excitedly. "It just came out."

"It sounds like a terrible chick flick," Clare protested.

"Which is why it'll be so fun!" Alli insisted. "Come on, Clare, we haven't done anything fun in _weeks_!"

This was true. The three of them had had so much work to do and so many personal problems to deal with that they didn't have any time for fun. For Ali and Jenna, "personal problems" meant boys. For Clare, it meant her parents.

They were the reason she was here, at Marie Hamilton Institute for Girls. They'd sent her off once they decided to get a divorce, because they "didn't want to disrupt her life." Right. Because sending her off to a _boarding school_ where she had to meet all new people and have all new classes and make all new friends and have an all new home definitely wasn't disruptive.

She tried to be reasonable, though. It wasn't _that_ terrible. She did like all her classes and the school in general. And she loved Alli and Jenna; they were great friends. And the school newspaper was fun, and overall, everything was great. On the surface, everything looked perfect.

But that didn't change the fact that Clare was falling apart on the inside, no matter how many times she tried to convince others and herself that she was fine. How could she be fine? Her whole world, everything she had ever known, had been completely changed. All her life, she'd believed that her parents were true love, and now she was being told that they were just a mistake, a bump along the way on the road of finding their _real_ soulmates. The ground beneath her had crumbled; it felt like a rug had been yanked right out from under her feet, slowly at first, then crashing down on her all at once. It was all just...fake. None of what they'd told her all her life had been real. She couldn't believe anything they'd ever said to her! So she knew nothing about love. Or anything at all.

Clare sighed. She had to do something; she couldn't just sit around in the girls' dorm and listen to sad songs and eat ice cream while her roommates went out. Her life was not a romantic comedy, and she had to keep moving.

"All right," she finally acquiesced. "I'll go." Alli and Jenna squealed. "But you're paying for me." It was only fair; Clare still wasn't totally over the water balloon incident.

"Deal," her two friends instantly agreed.

"Now let's go!" Alli yanked Clare out of her chair and marched her out the door. Jenna locked it behind them.

After the movie, Alli and Jenna were in awe. "And I just _loved_ when Emma Stone said that one line about the burrito," Alli gushed as she, Clare, and Jenna exited the theater. "She is _so_ hilarious!"

"But the whole speech about all the glitz and glam not being what you need was so powerful," Jenna extolled. "Definitely my favorite part."

Clare rolled her eyes and just kept walking a little behind her two friends. Personally, she'd thought the movie was horribly cliché and overdone, but decided not to contribute this opinion to the current conversation.

As Alli and Jenna continued on with their bubbly tones, Clare let her mind wander. Then her eyes, once she'd had enough of thinking about the past, and...well, the present.

She watched as a little girl jumped with two feet into a dirty puddle, then as a woman who was probably her mother ran after and scolded her. Clare observed three middle school boys coming out of the town diner, kicking a can and laughing. She saw a young couple walking and gazing at each other in the glow cast upon them by a streetlight.

She felt a pang hit her heart. A young couple. That was just what she and KC had been. Well, younger than the couple on the streets now, but just as in love. Or so Clare had thought. It had apparently all been a lie, just like the rest of her life. Because when she'd told KC she was leaving and had proposed the idea of a long-term relationship, he'd responded with a breakup.

Clare was quite honestly sick of love. It just hurt so much, and she wasn't even sure what it was anymore! She supposed she'd never really known what it was, actually. She'd thought what her parents had had been love; she'd been wrong. She'd thought what her and KC had had been love; she'd been wrong. She was left wrong and without a clue as to what was right.

Just then, one half of the young couple, a girl with bright red hair, giggled so loudly everyone on the street could hear her. The girl didn't care at all. Clare missed that: not caring. Being so in love that nothing else matters.

Suddenly the sound of loud laughter made its way across the street. Only different laughter than the girl's. Not couple laughter. Best friend laughter. _Mocking_ best friend laughter.

Clare peered into the night and saw that the boy laughing was now doubled-over. He was guffawing and pointing at the guy Clare assumed was his best friend. He was scowling at the boy who was snickering.

"Oh, come on, lighten up, Goldsworthy!" the boy who was pointing exclaimed.

This "Goldsworthy," Clare noticed, was actually rather attractive. He had dark hair and piercing eyes she could see through the night and across the street. Not the color, but the intensity in them. He wasn't exactly her "type," but he really was good-looking, she had to admit.

But Clare had to stop thinking about stuff like that, because she definitely was not about to be starting a relationship with him or any other guy. Relationships and love always led to hurt. She was done with all that.

She realized that love, whatever it was, really wasn't worth all its trouble.

**So, as you've probably noticed, Clare and Eli still have not met. They have only noticed each other, and just in passing, really. These first two chapters have been set-up chapters; they've given a peek into the lives and struggles of the characters (struggles that will, of course, be further explored throughout the course of the story).**

**The next chapter, I plan on having them meet. So look forward to that!**

**P.S. Don't get used to such early updates. I just figured I better get this up fast or people would come at me with pitchforks and torches, thinking that I wasn't continuing. I am, though, don't worry! I will just probably take longer updating now. Sorry!**

**P.P.S. Sorry I'm talking so much, but just a reminder that if you review, you're awesome! *Hint hint* *Nudge nudge* :D**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I own no part of Degrassi.**

**Hey everyone! New chapter, yay yay! But first...**

**So this is the chapter where Eli and Clare have their "chance meeting!" Woohoo! The majority of this is just fun stuff. But first, I must clear something up...**

**This is not, not, **_**NOT **_**a love at first sight story. This is going to take a **_**lot**_** of time. Eli has a lot of healing to do (which Clare will be a part of) and Clare has to figure a lot of stuff out (which Eli will help her do). They are starting out as friends, just like in the show. This is going to take time, so be patient. Getting over a dead girlfriend and a parent's divorce is hard; it takes time. They will get there, though; don't worry.**

**Without further ado, chapter three!**

**Eli's POV**

"Eli! Eli, wait up, man, come on!"

Adam ran up next to him in the hallway, but Eli just kept walking. He was still giving his best friend the cold shoulder after he tricked Eli into watching a chick flick Friday.

"Dude, it's been two days, can you please stop with the silent treatment already?" Adam asked tiredly. Eli just raised an eyebrow. "Ugh, you're being such a girl." Eli arched his eyebrow even more. "Oh shut up."

"I didn't say anything," Eli countered.

"Ha!" Adam pointed. "Got ya'! Silent treatment is now officially over!"

Eli rolled his eyes. "Sure, why not?" The silent treatment was too much work and was honestly exhausting. And, Eli had to admit, living without his best friend was pretty hard. As annoying as he was, Adam was a vital part of Eli's life, whether he liked it or not.

"Awesome!" Adam grinned. "Now I can hear your opinion on this." Adam thrust a paper under Eli's nose.

Eli looked at the bright blue sheet and saw that it was a flyer that read:

**Come to the very first**

**FOSTERVILLE IMPROV CLUB**

**MEETING**

**FRIDAY, OCTOBER 5**

**7:00 PM**

**at the**

**FOSTERVILLE COMMUNITY CENTER**

**ROOM 700A**

**All are welcome!**

**Contact "Fiona Coyne" on facerange for additional details**

"Saw it on the bulletin board," Adam said. Eli nodded; the bulletin board at the front entrance of the school was where all announcements and advertisements went. "Looked this Fiona girl up. She goes to Marie Hamilton. That school across the street. What do you think?"

"What do I think of what?" Eli asked with a shrug, handing the paper back to Adam.

"About the club!" Adam responded. "You wanna' do it?"

"Hell no," Eli answered.

"Why not?" Adam asked.

"I have no interest in playing silly improv games with a bunch of strangers, the majority of whom think they are amazing but in reality are quite terrible," Eli stated.

"You don't know that's what it's gonna' be like," Adam argued.

"I don't?" Eli inquired disbelievingly.

"No, you don't," Adam insisted. "How could you?"

"Because my parents dragged me to one of those things when I was ten," Eli informed his friend. "I vowed never to go to one of them again."

"Yeah, but if your parents were there, that means it was for kids and adults. This would just be for high schoolers, like us," Adam reasoned.

"Wrong. Read the flyer. 'All are welcome,'" Eli pointed out. "That's what the flyer for the thing my parents took me to said."

"Come on, let's give it a chance!" Adam pleaded.

"Why would you even be interested at all?" Eli questioned. "Last time I checked, your aspirations did not lie in theater."

"Because if this Fiona girl put flyers up our school, that means she put them up in her school," Adam replied. "And her school is an all-girls school. And girls like theater. Are you catching my drift?"

"You're pathetic," Eli said shortly.

"I know," Adam answered. "That's why I haven't had a date in a year. Come on, man, help me out. Be my wingman, please."

"So I get to look bad while you get chicks?" Eli understood.

"Well are you interested in getting chicks?" Adam responded, knowing the answer.

"No," Eli said evenly.

"Then what's the problem?" Adam argued.

"That I have dignity," Eli protested.

"Dude, come on. Be a bro," Adam begged. "Besides, we may even have fun, who knows? Please?"

Eli sighed. "Fine."

"YES!" Adam threw up his arms triumphantly, then patted Eli on the shoulder. "Knew you'd come around, buddy."

"Yeah, yeah," Eli said tiredly.

"Hey, we're still on for foosball tonight, right?" Adam confirmed. "In the lounge?"

"Of course," Eli replied as if Adam was crazy. They always played foosball on Monday night!

"Cool." Adam grinned. "See you tonight!" He split off into his classroom.

"See ya'," Eli said to no one, finally realizing what he'd just agreed to and wondering how the hell he'd gotten into this situation.

A few days later, Eli walked into his dorm, threw his bag on a chair, kicked back on his bed, put in his headphones, leaned back, and finally relaxed. Finally, Friday. The weekend. Time to rejuvenate, recharge his batteries, and-

"All right, all right, all right, let's go, let's go, let's go!"

Eli looked up to see Adam bursting through the door, grinning like an idiot. "Ready to get a couple of fiiiine ladies tonight? Or, well, get me a couple of fiiiiine ladies tonight?"

Eli groaned and put his head back.

"Come on," Adam said as he walked over to Eli and yanked the headphones off his hears.

"Ouch!" Eli protested, looking at Adam with annoyance.

"Get off your lazy ass," Adam retorted, turning towards the closet. "Now get ready."

Eli groaned again and went over to the dresser. "I still don't see why Jake couldn't have been your wingman."

"I already told you why!" Adam proclaimed, looking through shirt after shirt in the closet. "He has a date with that Katie girl."

"Of course he does," Eli muttered. Jake _always_ had a date, and with a different girl each week.

"Hey, he said he actually really likes this girl," Adam said, pulling a shirt off the closet and setting it on his bed. He went back into the closet, probably now in search of a nice jacket and jeans.

"Uh-huh," Eli said disbelievingly.

"I'm serious!" Adam insisted. "He said he's had a crush on her for weeks. Like, an actual crush; he doesn't just think she's hot. I think we may be seeing a lot more of this girl."

"Oh great." Eli rolled his eyes and pulled a black T-shirt and pair of jeans out of a drawer.

Adam looked at the outfit for barely a second and then said in a tired tone, "Seriously, dude? _All_ black? Would a little color kill ya'?"

Eli feigned shock and outrage, drawing his hand to his chest and saying, "Adam! You know about my condition!"

Adam just rolled his eyes and went back to the closet. "That won't help you meet any chicks, you know."

Eli sighed and simply answered, "That's the way I like it."

They finished getting ready and headed over to the community center. When they got to Room 700A of the community center, Eli and Adam were immediately greeted by a bubbly brunette with extremely curly hair.

"Hi!" She smiled widely and vigorously shook first Adam's, then Eli's hand. "I'm Fiona Coyne. Welcome to the first Fosterville Improv Club Meeting!"

"Thank you." Eli nodded, somewhat taken aback by this Fiona's enthusiasm. He looked over at Adam and saw that he may have found his target for the night. Eli rolled his eyes and prepared himself.

"Would you mind writing your names on these?" Fiona held out two slips of paper. "We're going to need them for an activity."

"All right then," Eli agreed easily. He took the pen Fiona was offering, scrawled his name on a slip, and handed it back to Fiona.

She looked at it and said, "Nice to meet you, Eli."

Eli nodded again and answered, "You too."

Fiona gave the pen to Adam, who was still staring at her like an idiot and who just managed to catch it. He shakily wrote his name on the slip and gave it back to Fiona, who smiled warmly at him, as if she had noticed nothing. Eli rolled his eyes; if she really hadn't, she had to be completely blind.

"Thanks! Nice to meet you, Adam." She continued to smile.

"Th-thanks," Adam stuttered. Eli was surprised drool wasn't actually falling down his chin. He decided this was the perfect opportunity to bow out of the situation without any objections.

"Hey, man, I'm gonna' go get a drink." He started to walk away, then felt a hand grab him and pull him back.

Adam smiled courteously at Fiona, said, "Excuse us," then pushed Eli off to the side. "What are you doing?"

"What do you mean?" Eli asked, completely clueless.

"You're supposed to be my wingman!" Adam whispered. "You can't bail on me now!"

Eli sighed. "Dude, do you really want me hanging around when you're trying to...you know?"

"Yes!" Adam exclaimed. "That's the whole point of the wingman! You have to make me look good!"

"Just let me get a drink at the water fountain, then I'll come back and make you look amazing," Eli offered. "All right?"

Adam considered, then reluctantly agreed, "Fine."

"Try to make it without me for five minutes." With that, Eli departed.

Once in the hallway, he leaned against a wall, closed his eyes, and let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. He didn't like crowds. They didn't make him nervous, exactly, just...uncomfortable. He'd rather be alone, or with just a few friends. But a whole mess of people all packed into one place? Definitely not the ideal situation for Eli.

He started to walk towards the fountain, his eyes still opening, when...

"AH!" Eli exclaimed, crashing into someone. Straightening up, he saw it was a girl about his age, maybe a little younger.

"Oh, sorry!" the girl said.

"No, no, it's my fault," Eli insisted. "I should've been watching where I was-"

He cut himself off, suddenly locking eyes with the girl. The gorgeous blue orbs seem to pull him in; they were so incredibly captivating. Almost...intoxicating. Just like...like Julia's had been. Different color, but they gave him the same...indescribable feeling that he'd never been able to figure out what to call. He stared at them for a solid five seconds, getting lost.

"Um, are you okay?" she asked, and he finally managed to pulled away.

"Um, yeah, yeah." Eli tried to play it off, but the resemblance was kind of derailing. Then he realized something else, though. He actually recognized this girl! "Hey! You're the girl with the curls!"

"Um...excuse me?" The girl's eyebrows drew together, and she bit her lip.

"I...I mean, you're the girl who's friends did something to make your clothes all soaking wet last week," Eli explained. "I saw you from across the street. And heard you."

"Oh, yeah, right." The girl seemed clearly embarrassed. Eli pretended not to notice.

"I'm Eli." He held his hand out. "Eli Goldsworthy."

"Clare," the girl said and shook his hand. "Clare Edwards."

He started, "I go to-"

"Fredrick Wintersole School for Boys, yeah, I know," Clare completed for him.

"Right, of course." Eli kind of wanted to sink into the ground right now; of course she knew what school he went to, he'd only just told her he saw her from across the street! He hated sounding like an idiot.

"So what are you here for?" she asked in a clear attempt to make conversation.

"Improv club," Eli answered. "You?"

"Same," she said flatly.

"Oh, a bit unenthusiastic, are we?" Eli teased.

"Well considering how my friends forced me into this, just a tad," she mocked right back.

"Well then we're in the same boat," Eli responded. "I'm supposed to be my friend's wingman." He immediately wanted to have the ability to teleport, just to be anywhere else. Why did those words have to come out of his mouth? He could have said _anything_, and his brain chose that? She probably now thought he was some creepy womanizer! He hated players; he didn't want to be thought of as one!

"I can see you're doing a good job with that," she taunted. Relief flooded through Eli; she took it as a joke. Which it was, really. Honestly, the whole idea was a joke! Eli as a wingman? Really? Greatest joke of the century.

"We should probably head back," she continued. "I think they're starting soon."

"Yeah," Eli agreed.

They started making their way back to 700A, and Eli smiled to himself.

Maybe there was a reason to go to Improv Club.

**Please note: That last line is not meant to be romantic. It means he's met someone new, someone interesting, someone he wants to get to know better and possibly be friends with. Eli is still not open to any romance yet. Just please keep that in mind. When feelings turn romantic and more-than-interest-and-friends, trust me, you will know. It will be very clear.**

**If you review, you get a gold star! 3**


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